Meet Bishop Eaton

The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton was elected as the ELCA’s fourth presiding bishop at the 2013 ELCA Churchwide Assembly. Born in Cleveland on April 2, 1955, Eaton earned a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard Divinity School...

Luther and Lutheranism

Martin Luther was eight years old when Christopher Columbus set sail from Europe and landed in the Western Hemisphere. Luther was a young monk and priest when Michaelangelo was painting the Sistine Chapel in Rome...

ELCA Good Gifts Catalog

Assignment Process

Assignment completes candidacy for all people, including those ordained in another Lutheran church or Christian tradition, moving them toward first call and admittance to the appropriate roster in the ELCA...

Our first stop on the Advocacy Road Trip is New Mexico, where
congregations and ministries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) continue to walk with their many neighbors experiencing
hunger and living in poverty.

New Mexico is a large state with a diverse geography and population,
both urban and rural. About 2 million people live here, the majority of
whom are members of minority groups — 46% of New Mexicans are Latino, 9%
Native American (identifying with 22 tribes), 2% are African American,
and 1.5% Asian.

Consistently, New Mexico ranks as a state with an extremely high
percentage of its people living in poverty. The 2010 census placed the
state’s poverty rate at 20.4%, which is the second highest in the
nation. More alarming is the rate of children living in poverty at 30%,
ranking third in the U.S. These high levels of poverty inevitably lead
to extreme hunger throughout New Mexico. Approximately 15% are “Food
Insecure” meaning that access to food is limited by lack of money or
other resources. Nearly 6% are living with “Very Low Food Security”
which means that food intake of some household members is reduced and
normal eating patterns are disrupted due to limited resources.

In response to the widespread poverty and hunger in New Mexico, ELCA
congregations learn, serve and advocate. Through a variety of
educational opportunities, congregations explore how we are called to be
followers of Jesus in light of the context in which we live. They also
learn about the needs of many New Mexicans by engaging in a wide range
of service to their neighbors living in poverty.

One example is ELCA congregations in Albuquerque, including St.
Timothy, St. Luke and All Saints, who regularly welcome and host
families experiencing homelessness overnight at their churches and
assist them toward family sustainability through the Family Promise
program. Another congregation, Peace Lutheran in Las Cruces, supports
and sponsors the Border Servant Corps, which annually brings young
volunteers to serve in agencies working to address poverty in Las Cruces
and in El Paso, Texas.

Many ELCA members and congregations, like Christ Lutheran in Santa Fe
and Holy Cross in Albuquerque, prepare meals and provide food to people
who are hungry. St. Peter in Carlsbad is one of our congregations who
help to build homes for families in Juarez, Mexico, through Casas por
Christo. For many years, St. Paul in Albuquerque has partnered with the
Martineztown neighborhood through service and advocacy. Bethlehem in Las
Cruces actively supports the Navajo Lutheran Mission. These are but a
few of the ways that our congregations serve their neighbors through
work that is a central part of their ministries.

Several years ago, congregations in New Mexico realized that advocacy
was integral in addressing the deeply imbedded issues of poverty and
hunger in the state. Building on the direct services provided in their
communities, ELCA members worked to form advocacy ministries. In 1984,
the New Mexico state public policy office in Santa Fe opened. The ELCA
Rocky Mountain Synod has consistently supported this advocacy ministry
as an intentional ministry of the synod and a witness to God’s love.
ELCA congregations throughout New Mexico have become involved in
advocacy in response to the needs that they have seen when they serve
their communities and neighbors. ELCA pastors and lay leaders encourage
their members to become active advocates. Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-New
Mexico continues to focus its work primarily on public policies that
can have a positive impact on people living in poverty and with hunger.

A direct result of this advocacy is the creation of a state Housing
Trust Fund to increase the availability of affordable housing with about
1,400 units built so far. ELCA members have joined the Advocacy Network
to learn about the ways that changes in public policy can help to
address poverty and hunger. Pastors and congregations invite the
Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-New Mexico director to come to their
congregations to talk about advocacy opportunities and to provide
opportunities for members to join the Advocacy Network.

The Rocky Mountain Synod, ELCA congregations in New Mexico and
Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-New Mexico will continue learn about, serve
and advocate for our neighbors living in hunger and poverty.

This is Christ's church.

There is a place for you here.
We are the church that shares a living, daring confidence in God's grace. Liberated by our faith, we embrace you as a whole person — questions, complexities and all. Join us as we do God's work in Christ's name for the life of the world.